Corrupt. Us? No. Inept. Us? Yes.
I write this post with a nod and a wink to Holemaster who asks, “what’s wrong with Ireland?”.
We are. Says he.
But I think we were once upon a time, ie, in the not too distant past. But not now.
Really, now we’re more clueless and badly led. By people who don’t know the first thing about governance. People who were democratically elected unfortunately. So maybe we, as a whole, are to blame on that front alone.
But to my mind, corruption requires great knowledge of the systems you’re corrupting and a certain mastery of those very systems. Our social leaders (TD’s, bankers, etc) and those who oversaw the boom, and the subsequent bust, don’t have that mastery. They’re too stupid to be corrupt. And thus they have made us the laughing stock of Europe. We’re gambling our grandchildren’s future due to their ineptitude and incompetence, not because of corruption and the nod and a wink culture.
As an aside, an article in the Irish Times yesterday states that there’s ‘little corruption’ in Ireland. In fact we’re on a par with the Germans on the world corruption table. Make of that what you will.
What a headline…
There’s a movie in there somewhere. Has to be.
Don’t all kind of images spring to mind? It’s so evocative. I can just picture these shady Mexican lads stuffing bags of coke into sharks’ mouths and sending them off like lethal carrier pigeons on a drug run.
When you read the story it becomes slightly more normal and less surreal, but still.
It goes like this… Read the rest of this entry »
“Ever heard of a country called Italy?”
Interesting piece / discussion over at OutsideIn on the nature of Irish politics. Have your say.
To Be Commended…
I’m really liking the new blog series Balkan Bikers by Irish Times managing editor Peter Murtagh. Along with his biker buddy Tony, Peter is travelling across the Balkans on a motorcycle and keeping a blog on his adventures. (I came across it via the also excellent OutsideIn) It’s very enlightening but in a readable, enjoyable way. It’s a beautiful and hugely historical part of the world and so far Peter is certainly doing it justice with his posts. It reminds me of The Long Way Round with Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor except with greater insight and more journalistic nous. I look forward to more.
On another note, The Irish Times must be commended for publishing this blog. It’s both innovative and encouraging.
